T-18 Tank Mecha

While I have been taking a break I have been working on a small project, creating a model of a Mecha based on a T-18 Russian Tank. It isn't complete but I wanted to share what I have done so far. 

        

I used blueprints to make the body as close to the original T-18 Tank as possible, and made small adjustments to size to fit the Mecha aesthetic better. I originally had the rear engine modelled too but it made the build too back heavy.

The arms and legs are additions I made without reference, but I tried to keep more of the flat, angled panels the rest of the tank used. I made the feet with a ski mode and a grip mode as I planned the mech to be in a snow and ice climate.

             

I spent most of my time working on the turret and cockpit, making it fit within the frame of the mech while being able to rotate 360 degrees without causing any clipping. I imagine this being used in a survival game where the player can enter and exit the mech depending on the situation, gathering and taking part in small scale skirmishes as a human then returning to the mech as a storage and transport hub that can be used for large scale fights. 

Despite my skillset being more aligned with animation, I do find myself often coming back to modelling as something I enjoy, especially hard surface and mechanical models.

Associate Motion Capture Specialist at Rockstar Games

I've been putting off updating my website the last few years as I had a job at Rockstar Games as an Associate Motion Capture Specialist for two and a half years. Due to the nature of work at Rockstar there wasn't much I can update on, but it was a good experience with good people.

Seeing the people working at Rockstar, a triple A games company with some of the most well known games be so human and down to earth did make me smile. Being able to give my own input and have it visibly affect the project was always amazing to see.

Now I'm giving myself a break from work, ever since I left university I've either been on jobsearch or in a job. I'm still slowly looking at job opportunities but it's not my focus. For now I'll see what comes next.

Games Technical Instructor at Staffordshire University

It's been a while since my last update, but since last year I've been working at my old university, Staffordshire University as a Technical Instructor for Games and Visual Effects. The job itself covers a number of things ranging from teaching to supporting staff and students with hardware, software and anything games related. 
In particular I've been in charge of their motion capture stage, the largest in UK education. It uses Vicon mocap software and hardware, and I had worked with their system since I was a student here, so it didn't take me long to adjust to any new changes.

I was unsure of the teaching aspect at first, teaching students to use mocap and overseeing their sessions but I ended up giving sessions pretty naturally, and have been hearing good things from both students and staff.

Seeing the university again and students working on various projects has made me want to work on games and animation again, and I've been able to work on a small project in some spare time. I plan to show some of my progress here soon, so I hope you look forward to it.

3D Animation Showreel - March 2021

 

A showreel showing some of the work I did at Keyframe Studios for Dead Pixels. There's a focus on action here, between the animations and song I chose. Once more of the work I did comes out I hope to put them together for another showreel.

Thank you for watching and I hope you enjoy!

Dead Pixels Animation Portfolio

It's taken longer than I would have liked, but I've finally gotten some Dead Pixels content from Keyframe Studios and put together this portfolio video.

 

There are two videos, this one which has a small commentary of my time at Keyframe Studios and the work I did for rigging, skinning, scene work and animating, and a showreel focused on animation, which I can use when applying to jobs. It feels good to have some evidence of my work, instead of just using text all the time.

I hope you enjoy the work I've done!

The showreel will be available in the next post.